Become public representative on health trust

Northumberland residents are being given the opportunity to have a say on health services in their area.

Public governor elections will be held by Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, with vacancies across the county and North Tyneside.

This role involves representing the views of local people and helping to build links between the organisation and the many communities it serves.

Those interested must be a member of the trust before they can put themselves forward as a candidate to become a public governor.

To become a member, people living in Northumberland and North Tyneside can complete an application form online at www.northumbria.nhs.uk/members or call 0191 2031296.

The vacancies include four in the trust’s Wansbeck area, which covers Morpeth.

Brian Flood, chairman of Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Our public governors are the voice of local people and their views help us to shape our priorities and develop local services.

“With the opening of our Specialist Emergency Care Hospital in June it is a really exciting time to join, so I would urge anyone with an interest in healthcare to get involved.”

Nomination forms to become a public governor are available from Electoral Reform Service by calling 0208 8899203, emailing john.box@electoralreform.co.uk or texting 2FT NH and your name and address to 88802.

All completed nominations must be received by 5pm on Wednesday.

Earlier this year, the trust – which provides hospital, community and adult social care services – won a number of accolades at The Patient Experience Network National Awards.

They included ‘overall best trust’ and the ‘measuring, reporting and acting’ category for a Northumbria Healthcare programme that involves collecting the views of 50,000 patients every year, acting on their feedback and delivering patient-centred training to staff.